US3466708A - Holding clip for pocket instrument - Google Patents

Description

, Sept. 16, 1969 R. M. JENKINS HOLDING CLIP FOR POCKET INSTRUMENT Filed Oct. 21, 1966 Roy M. Jenkins,

INVENTOR.

GOLOVE a KL EINBERG,

ATTORNFVQ United States Patent 3,466,708 HOLDING CLIP FOR POCKET INSTRUMENT Roy M. Jenkins, North Hollywood, Calif., assignor to Lindy Pen Company Incorporated, North Hollywood,

Callf.

Filed Oct. 21, 1966, Ser. No. 588,374 Int. Cl. B43k 25/00 U.S. CI. 2411 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to pocket clips for pens, pencils and the like and, more particularly to a clip that does not rely on spring tension for its holding action.

In the prior art, clips for pocket instruments have generally included a spring arm which extends from a point of attachment and, at its free end, exerts a substantial force orthogonal to the barrel of the device to which it is attached. Typical clips of this type are shown, for example, in the design patents to E. Douglas, Design 148,917, I. M. Kahn, Design 177,816 or in the patent to Nielson 1,407,474. Other, similar, clips are shown, for example, in the patent to Miner 1,144,426 or the patent to C. J. Macnally, Design 107,438.

It would appear that the prior art teaches, rather universally, that a clip for a pocket instrument should include an inwardly directed bead or gripping portion which has applied to it, a substantial force normal to the barrel and directed to the barrel so that a substantial gripping force is developed between the barrel and the bead.

Obviously, as the spring arm loses its elasticity or is deformed or otherwise bent away from the barrel, the holding force applied against the barrel is diminished or, in the case of deformation, is lost and the clip is no longer useful. Further, the conventional spring clip, once mechanically deformed, is rarely ever made satisfactorily useful by attempts at physically bearing the spring arm back into holding engagement with the barrel.

Therefore, what is needed, and what is provided by the present invention is a holding clip that does not rely upon a holding force normal to the instrument which must be exerted at a point remote from the point of attachment. According to the present invention, a clip is provided which, on is inner surface adjacent the barrel, has a surface which converges, relative to the surface of the barrel to a relatively tight fit at the point of attachment to the barrel. The holding action is more nearly analagous to that of an old-fashioned clothes pin which pinched the fabric about the clothes line with its converging arms. The clip of the present invention may either be integral with the pen barrel, or may be attached by an encircling band. In a preferred embodiment, employing an encircling band, one or more projections are provided at the interior of the band to maintain a tight frictional fit on the barrel.

The present clip, if made of .a plastic material, is intended to be substantially untensioned, and therefore any cold flow of the plastic does not impair the holding ability of the clip. In alternative embodiments, a clip according to the present invention can be molded onto the barrel as an integral part thereof.

"ice

-In yet other embodiments, clips according to the present invention can be otherwise fastened to the barrel through the use of adhesives, or with stakes or staples. It is also within the scope of the present invention to provide a metal clip member, using a material which is substantially inelastic, although it may be flexible. [In such an embodiment, the clip may be attached to the barrel by any of the conventional methods.

Accordingly, it an object to provide a novel clip for pocket instruments which holds through a wedging action.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a pocket clip made of an inelastic material.

It is yet another object to provide a novel and inexpensive holding clip for pocket instruments which can be made of the same 'material that comprises the instrument.

The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the invention both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, will be better understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which several embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only, and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a portion of a typical instrument having a holding clip according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an end section view of the clip and instrument of FIG. 1, taken along the line 2-2 in the direction of the appended arrows;

FIG. 3 is an end section view of the pocket instrument and clip of FIG. 1, taken along line 3--3 in the direction of the appended arrows;

FIG. 4 is an end section view of the pocket instrument and clip of FIG. 1, taken along the line 44 in the direction of the appended arrows;

FIG. 5 is a side view of a pocket instrument having a holding clip, integrally formed therewith according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention;

(RIG. 6 is a cross section view of a portion of an alternative clip arm according to the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a cross section view of yet another alternative pocket instrument clip arm.

Turning first to FIGS. 1 through 4, there is shown a conventional pocket instrument which, for purposes of illustration, may be a nonrefillable ball point pen such as is sold by the assignee of the present invention under the trademark Lindy. A barrel portion 12, shown herein as substantially cylindrical is provided with a holding clip 14 to enable the pocket instrument 10 to be held in a clothing pocket or the like. The clip 14 includes a barrel encircling portion 16 which attaches the clip to the pocket instrument 10. Molded into the inner surface of the encircling portion 16 are one or more projections 17 to maintain a tight frictional fit. The clip 14 also includes a gripping arm 18 and a pocket engaging ball portion 20.

The holding clip 14 in the present embodiment is made of a substantially flexible, plastic material, which has a low modulus of elasticity. The inner surface 22 of the gripping arm 18, in this embodiment, if of angular cross section, as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. The inner surface 22 converges toward the barrel 12, from its point of support at the ball portion 20, to the point of attachment at the barrel encircling portion 16.

In use, a sheet of a fabric, which corresponds to a pocket element is engaged between the barrel 12 and the ball portion 20 and the pocket instrument is moved into further engagement with the pocket elements. At a distance, depending upon the deformation characteristic of the gripping arm 18 and the space provided between the inner surface 22 and the barrel 12, an equilibrium condition will be reached, where the pocket element has advanced into the aperture, as far as it can go. The frictional engagement of the pocket material by the inner surface 22 of the gripping arm 18 tends to hold the pocket instrument in place, and will resist most dislodging forces.

Turning to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, it is seen that the opening between the barrel 12 and the inner surface 22 of the gripping arm increases toward the free or ball portion end of the clip. One pen clip made according to the present invention was made from polypropylene, which is not normally considered an elastic material, although it is quite flexible.

It is also considered within the scope of the present invention to mold a pocket clip from the same plastic or other material that is used in the fabrication of the pocket instrument barrel adjacent which the clip is normally positioned.

Turning to FIG. 5, there is shown, in side view, an alternative embodiment of a holding clip for a pocket instrument in which the clip is integral with the body of the pocket instrument. As seen, a pocket instrument is provided with an integral shoulder or boss 32, from which a gripping arm 34 extends terminating in a head or gripping portion 36. Such a pocket instrument would conventionally be made of a material which might tend to be more rigid and less elastic than a material such as polypropylene.

In such an embodiment, the inner surface 38 of the arm portion might be formed into a shallow curve, which converges to the main body of the pocket instrument 30 at the boss or shoulder 32. The particular angle of convergence between the arm inner surface and the pocket instrument barrel, is a matter of design choice, based upon the size and weight of the pocket instrument and the weight and texture of the pocket material in conjunction with which the instrument is to be used. Obviously, if the instrument is intended to be carried in a pocket made of a heavy, weighty fabric, a relatively large gap should be provided between the arm and the body of the instrument.

Turning to FIG. 6, there is shown in cross section an alternative embodiment of a clip according to the present invention in which a clip arm has an angled inner surface 52 which cooperates with a flat portion 54 of the body 56 of a pocket instrument. Also shown is a section of a fabric 58 segment, which may be a portion of the material from which a pocket is made.

Referring next to FIG. 7, there is shown yet another embodiment of a clip according to a present invention which utilizes a rounded inner surface for the clip arm. As shown, a pocket instrument 70 is provided with a curved surface, next adjacent a holding clip arm 72. The inner surface 74 of the clip arm 72 assumes a rounded cross-sectional shape, and a sheet of planar material 76 is shown interposed between the inner surface 74 of the clip arm 72 and the body portion of the pocket instrument 70.

Other variations and alteration will be obvious to those skilled in the art without departing from the basic principles of the present invention, which has provided a novel holding clip for a pocket instrument such as a fountain pen, ball point, pencils, flashlight, thermometer, optical instrument, and any other device adapted to be carried in a pocket and held thereto by a clip.

A holding action is provided, by a pinching of the pocket material between the clip arm and the body of the pocket instrument, as contrasted with the conventional spring clip which holds by a force applied to the free end of the clip member which is substantially normal to the body of the pocket instrument.

.According to the present invention, no holding force is developed at the free end of the clip arm but rather the holding action is created by a wedging of the pocket between the clip arm and the body portion of the pocket instrument. The inner surface of the arm of the clip converges toward the body portion and, at the point of attachment of the clip to the pocket instrument, virtually no clearance is provided between the inner surface of the arm and the body portion.

A clip according to the present invention need not be made of a material which is highly elastic or which can apply a substantial tension to the free end of the clip arm. Rather, the clip arm may, at its free end be rather limber and flexible or, in the case of stiffer materials, may even be fairly rigid.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A holding clip for a pocket instrument comprising in combination:

(a) attachment means for affixing the clip to a pocket instrument;

(b) a clip arm having a free end and an attached end connected to said attachment means and the pocket instrument, said clip arm being of predetermined dimensions which gradually and uniformly increase in cross sectional thickness from said free end towards said attached end and an inner surface converging from the free end of said clip arm toward the point of attachment of said clip arm to the pocket instrument and having a suitable cross section for making substantially line contact with material inserted between said clip arm and the pocket instrument.

2. The holding clip of claim 1, wherein said clip arm is made of a substantially rigid material.

3. The holding clip of claim 1, wherein said clip arm is made of a flexible, substantially inelastic material.

4. The holding clip of claim 1, wherein said ll; arm inner surface has an angular cross section for making a line contact with a material to be engaged.

5. The holding clip of claim 1, wherein said clip arm inner surface has a rounded convex cross section.

6. The holding clip of claim 1, wherein the said clip arm inner surface converges to meet the pocket instrument at the point of attachment.

7. The holding clip of claim 1, wherein said clip arm inner surface convergingly approaches the pocket instrument but is spaced therefrom at the point of attachment.

8. The holding clip of claim 1, wherein said attachment means includes a pocket instrument encircling member.

9. The holding clip of claim 1, wherein said attachment means includes a band partially encircling the pocket instrument.

10. The holding clip of claim 1, wherein said clip arm is integrally molded to the pocket instrument.

11. A holding clip for a pocket instrument comprising a holding arm attachable to the pocket instrument, said holding arm having a free end and an inner surface adapted to be positioned adjacent the pocket instrument, said holding arm being of substantially rigid material of predetermined dimensions which gradually and uniformly increase in cross sectional thickness from the free end thereof towards the point of attachment to the pocket instrument; said holding arm inner surface converging from said free end toward the point of attachment to the pocket instrument, and having a suitable cross section for making substantially line contact with a material to be engaged, whereby a material inserted between said holding arm and the body of the pocket instrument is held by a frictional, wedging engagement.

12. The combination of claim 11, wherein said holding clip is an integral part of the pocket instrument.

(References on following page) 5 6 References Cited 2,189,963 2/1940 Schoneberger 2411 1,361,732 12/1920 Johnston.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,837,801 6/1958 Seibert et a1. 24 11 1/1919 Goldstein 24-11 XR 10/1933 Merzon 24-11 5 FOREIGN PATENTS 6/1941 Sullivan 2411 952,936 5/1949 France.

12/1944 Kahn et a1. 24-11 19,566 1908 Great Britain.

5/1966 Wesenberg 24-11 X 917,280 1/ 1963 Great Britain.

2/ 1959 Zepelovitch 24-11 X 10 1951 Weiss 24 11 X 10 DONALD A. GRIFFIN, Primary Examiner

Images